Valek's Poison Study
by Valek-842
Summary: Poison Study through Valek's eyes.
1. Chapter 1

**I do NOT own any of these characters. They belong to the magnificent Maria .**

**Valek's POV**

**Chapter One**

I was sitting in my office re-reading Yelena's file, reciting my plan in my head. Five seasons had passed since she had arrived, one season shy of a full year. It was finally time to start putting my plans in action. I needed Yelena; she was the key to the puzzle regarding Brazell and his 'orphanage'. The other generals thought he had gone soft in his old age but I saw right through his lies and suspected otherwise. I had been obsessing over Yelena since she had come here.

A knock on the door snapped my mind back to the present.

"Come in," I said forcing a tint of annoyance in my tone.

The guards led Yelena through my crowded office. Books were scattered in messy piles all around the room and chunks of rock I used when carving littered the floor. I analyzed her as she took in her surroundings.

She shuddered causing the chains to clatter.

Yelena looked at me. She had beautiful emerald green eyes which weren't very common in Ixia. She must be from Sitia. I knew from her body language that she was trying to figure out who I was. She gazed at the two red diamonds sewn onto the colours of my uniform.

My eyes widened in mock surprise as I scanned her appearance. I knew my gaze had made her feel self conscious, because she looked away from my eyes and took in her appearance. She wore a tattered, red prison gown and her dirty bare feet were roughened with yellow calluses. The skin that showed through the rips in the fabric was streaked with dirt. Yelena's long black hair hung in greasy clumps and she was covered with sweat. She swayed under the weight of the chains.

"A woman? The next prisoner to be executed is a woman?" Of course I had already known that she was a woman since I had been obsessing over her for five seasons. They did not know this however so I was acting. I had made my voice icy.

Her body trembled when she heard the word executed. This caused an unexpected feeling of pity to course through me before I locked it up. I was being stupid. I would not feel pity for this murderer.

Yelena looked as if she was going to fall to the ground and start sobbing. She didn't though. Some thought probably kept her composed. Impressive. I remembered the guards did not tolerate weakness. Click.

I tugged at my hair something I did when I was nervous. I quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed my slip up. Thankfully only a few people knew what it meant and Yelena's guards were _not _part of that group.

She looked terrified of the guards, which was understandable since they were ruthless and would whip the prisoners who showed any sign of weakness. She was a smart girl to keep herself composed.

"I should have taken the time to read your dossier." That was a load of shit because I had practically read it every day and in every spare minute I had to myself, trying to get information about Brazell's orphanage and why she has murdered him.

I shooed the guards away. "You're dismissed." There was a sharp edge in my voice. Strange that it came from the thought of what they had done to her in the dungeon.

Ignoring the thought, I motioned for her to sit down when they had left. She sat in the seat in front of my desk that I had pointed to. Her chains clanged as she perched on the edge.

"Yelena, today may be your lucky day," I said, but in truth that was a load of crap, as it had nothing to do with luck, instead it was due to the five seasons of planning and my scheme to kill Oscove, the last food taster.

It looked as if she was about to say something sarcastic, but instead she just bowed her head, avoiding eye contact as she swallowed her reply. Amazing! A very good and useful skill that so few possessed.

I realised with a start I had been quiet too long. Hastening to cover up my mistake I said "Well-behaved and respectful. You're starting to look like a good candidate."

I noticed she was looking at the two black panthers I had carved, that were on my desk.

"You've been tried and found guilty of murdering General Brazell's only son Reyad." I stroked my temple with my finger again wondering what her motives were. When questioned about why she had murdered him she refused to answer. It must have been important because it caused an innocent girl to commit murder and people don't murder for fun knowing the punishment stated in The Code Of Behaviour was death. I was sure she was aware of this.

Voicing my thoughts I said "That explains why Brazell is here this week, and why he has been unusually interested in the execution schedule." It was common knowledge that she had killed his son.

"I suppose you're going to protest the conviction. Say you were framed or that you killed out of self-defence." They all said the same things. Murder in Ixia was not tolerated. If you are found guilty, you would be executed.

I leaned back in my chair, waiting for her reply.

"No sir," she whispered. "I killed him."

I straightened in my chair shooting her a hard look. The answer she gave was not the one I was expecting. It unnerved me when a prisoner was different. The predictable ones were the easiest to handle.

Unable to control myself any longer, I laughed out loud.

"This may work out better than I'd planned. Yelena, I'm offering you a choice. You can be either executed, or you can become Commander Ambrose's new food taster. His last taster died recently, and we need to fill the position."

She gaped at me. I saw a glimmer of hope in her green eyes, followed by a look of disbelief, then distrust.

"A fool would refuse the job." Her voice rasped louder this time. I couldn't tell if she was taking this seriously.

"Well, it's a lifetime position. The training can be lethal. After all, how can you identify poisons in the Commander's food if you don't know what they taste like?"

I tidied the papers in her folder.

"You'll get a room in the castle to sleep, but most of the day you'll be with the Commander. No days off. No husband or children. Some prisoners have chosen execution instead. At least they know exactly when they are going to die, rather than guessing if it's going to come with the next bite." I clicked my teeth together, feeling a feral grin spreading across my face remembering how Oscove had 'died'.

Her whole body shook as she realised I was being serious. The flicker of hope I had briefly seen before, was back in her eyes.

I could see questions in her eyes and I knew I would've answered most of them before.

Instead of the most obvious question, the one I thought she'd ask, she said, "Who tastes the Commander's food now?"

"I do. So I'm anxious to find a replacement. Also The Code Of Behaviour states that someone whose life is forfeit must be offered the job."

She stood up and paced around the room, dragging her chains with her. She looked again at the books, this time reading the titles. She then proceeded to look at all the candles at their various stages in life.

She looked back at me eying my uniform. I knew in that moment, that she had finally guessed who I was.

"What should I tell the executioner?" I was suddenly nervous. Concerned she would choose the noose instead. Stupid Valek! I lied to myself convincingly, saying that I was only feeling this was because she was the key to too many puzzles and I couldn't afford to lose her.

"I am not a fool." The nerves disappeared. Even though I knew she would stay, I couldn't stop the relief that coursed through my body. !


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I snapped her folder closed and walked to the door. I could feel Yelena's gaze on my back. When the door opened the guards snapped to attention.

"She has taken the job. Remove her chains."

One guard moved towards her. He spun her around and removed her manacles and chains. Her wrists were sticky with blood. Sickened I turned away and went to the cabinet behind my desk. Yelena swayed.

I walked over to the cabinet behind my desk. It was my cabinet of tricks. I smiled to myself. It contained my poisons and White Freight.

Guilt filled my stomach. Damn Valek! It was standard procedure to poison the food taster with White Freight, so why did I feel guilty about poisoning Yelena? She was just another criminal.

When she turned back to me I was pouring two drinks. I watched her as she examined the contents of the cabinet. Before she refocused on me, I slipped some White Freight into her drink. I returned the bottle and locked the cabinet door.

"While we are waiting for Margg, I thought maybe you could use a drink." I handed her the tall, pewter goblet with the dose of White Freight in it. I raised my own goblet and made a toast.

"To Yelena, our newest food taster. My you last longer than your predecessor." Unless anyone poisoned the Commander's food, she fails the test or she commits treason, Yelena will last longer than the other tasters because I needed her, therefore I would not kill her unless it was unavoidable.

She hesitated. The goblet stopped short of her lips. Smart girl.

"Relax," I said "it's a standard toast." For a food taster I thought. Again I felt the small stab of guilt about poisoning her. Cut it out Valek, Right now! She's a food taster and technically she didn't ask directly if it was poisoned.

She took a long swig. Before she could say anything, I asked her to identify the ingredients of the drink. She took a smaller sip and replied, "Peaches sweetened with honey."

She was good. Most food tasters didn't pick that up the first time.

"Good. Now take another sip. This time roll the liquid around on your tongue before swallowing."

She did as I asked.

"Oranges?" She asked.

This girl was amazing! She was also very talented in this line of work.

"That's right. Now gargle it." She gave me an inquisitive look.

"Gargle?"

I just nodded. She gargled the rest of her drink and almost spat it out.

"Rotten oranges!"

I could feel the skin crinkling around my eyes as I laughed. She was gauging my reaction and observing my features.

I handed her my drink, knowing it wouldn't have the 'rotten orange' taste since there was no White Freight in it and asked her to repeat the experiment.

Hesitantly she took a sip. She gargled it and a relieved look spread across her face.

"Better?" I asked as I took back the empty cup, knowing full well it was.

"Yes." She was not a talkative girl.

I sat down behind my desk and opened her folder once more. I picked up my quill and began writing.

_Yelena Ixia_

_Food Taster in training._

_Butterfly's Dust Test: Identified peaches and honey on first try. _

_After given instructions to roll the liquid and then gargle it, she successfully identified all the ingredients. Except of course Butterfly's Dust which she said tasted, like rotten oranges._

_Overall: Very Talented_

_Success_

"You just had your first lesson in food tasting. Your drink was laced with a poison called Butterfly's Dust. Mine wasn't. The only way to detect Butterfly's Dust in a liquid is to gargle it. That rotten-orange flavour you tasted was the poison."

She rose to her feet with a terrified look on her face. "Is it lethal?"

"A big enough dose will kill you in two days. The symptoms don't arrive until the second day, but by then it's too late." Haha it is so _not _lethal. I loved lying to the new taster about this to see their reactions, but I hated doing it to Yelena. No Valek stop _right_ there! It has to be done.

"Did I have a lethal dose?" She held her breath.

"Of course. Anything less and you wouldn't have tasted the poison." Poor girl, it must feel horrible to think you have been poisoned.

She started to gag like any smart person would. At least she didn't vomit all over my desk.

I looked up from the stack of papers. I studied her face. "I warned you the training would be dangerous. But I would hardly give you a poison that your body had to fight while you suffered from malnutrition. There is an antidote to Butterfly's Dust."

I showed her a small vile which contained the 'antidote'.

I still had that irritating feeling of guilt in my gut. The 'antidote' was a fascinating thing. It was really just another dose of White Freight, the poison. If you had a regular dose, once a day, it would prolong the symptoms. Which was why it fascinated me so much. Anyway, it wouldn't kill you but it would produce stomach cramps worthy of a day in bed. However the conviction alone could in fact kill them.

She collapsed back into the chair and sighed. I hadn't offered her the antidote though and she realised this to.

"In answer to the question you didn't ask but should've have is this –"I raised the small vial and shook it "- is how we keep the Commander's food taster from escaping."

She stared at me trying to understand the implication.

"Yelena, you confessed to murder. We would be fools to let you serve the Commander without some guarantees. Guards watch the Commander at all times and it is doubtful you would be able to reach him with a weapon. For other forms of retaliation, we use Butterfly's Dust." I picked up the vial of 'antidote' and twirled it in the sunlight, admiring it. "You need a daily dose of this to stay alive. The antidote keeps the poison from killing you. As long as you show up each morning in my office, I will give you the antidote. Miss one morning you'll be dead by the next. Commit a crime or act of treason and you'll be sent back to the dungeon until the poison takes you. I would avoid that fate if I were you. The poison causes severe stomach cramps and uncontrollable vomiting."

My eyes slid past Yelena's shoulder and she turned to see Margg walk into the room. I introduced her to Yelena. Margg strode out the door expecting Yelena to follow.

She glanced at the vial on my desk.

"Come to my office tomorrow morning. Margg will direct you."

She paused at the door on her way out. Then she quickly hurried after Margg, who probably hadn't waited for her.

I sat thinking about White Freight. I shouldn't have felt guilty about giving it to Yelena. It was standard procedure.

White Freight was my secret. There was no poison called Butterfly's Dust and not even the Commander knew it. He believed that the White freight I used was the Butterfly's Dust, like I wanted everyone to.

Realising that I was late for lunch again, I hurried out of my office leaving all the thoughts of Yelena and 'Butterfly's Dust' behind me.

When I got to the Commander's office his disappointed gaze pierced me. He detested cold food.

I tasted his cold food in silence. However when I mentioned Yelena any annoyance of my lateness disappeared. He was always eager when I informed him of the next food taster. He liked hot food and with me tasting for him, he rarely got it.

"So she has taken the offer. Which isn't surprising. Most prisoners wouldn't pass up an offer for a second chance of life. Even if it does mean they have to taste for poisons."

I nodded. "Margg is getting her some uniforms and showing her to her room. I will start her training tomorrow." Margg would be taking care of Yelena's basic needs, and by that I meant very basic.

"Good." He smiled at me deep in thought. "Dinner is in the war room. Don't be late." He dismissed me.

I nodded again. "Yes sir." I knew that I would still probably be late.

I left his office and headed back to my own. I had some work that I needed to finish before dinner. I needed to fit Yelena's lessons in my busy schedule.


End file.
